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Author Topic: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"  (Read 39078 times)

thierrylegros396

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About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« on: March 26, 2013, 02:03:21 pm »

Hi to all.

I've read with interrest the article "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders" and wanted to answer because I'm more optimistic ;)

OK, the Canon G15 viewfinder (among others) suffer from that problem, it's really evident !

But to my big surprise, the viewfinder of my RX100 can be really better if you tweak it.

As I shoot RAW+JPG, I've seen that if you change the setting of the JPG (less contrast) and set the DRO on "Auto", oh fine, you can see deep in the shadows !!

Unfortunately you cannot do this with Canon compact cameras, shame on Canon !

Please Mr. Canon, Sony has implemented that and it works, do the same with your cameras.

Have a Nice day.

Thierry

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xpatUSA

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2013, 03:42:47 pm »

After getting used to my first EVF (Panasonic DMC-GH1) I like it more and more, especially the live luminance histogram in the top left corner. Also the automatic X10 for manual focus works very well for my old diabetically afflicted eyes.

I am beginning like my conventional viewfinder less as time goes by . .
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best regards,

Ted

pegelli

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2013, 05:04:27 pm »

I see the same effect as Michael but it doesn't bother me as much, and as Thierry says there is a way to tweek it further to your liking (what I sometimes do)

I also see the opposite disadvantage with an OVF. Sometimes your eye adaptation is so quick that contrast ranges that seem OK in the viewfinder cannot be caught within the Dynamic range of the sensor.

I still use both (NEX 6 EVF and Sony A700 & A850 OVF), and while both have advantages and disadvantages I can work OK with both.
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pieter, aka pegelli

scooby70

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2013, 05:55:18 pm »

My only problems with my current EVF are that the light output causes me extreme eye strain in low light and in some low light situations the EVF fails to display what's easily visible by eye. These are both killers for me and I'm struggling to invest any more serious money in CSC's.

I do think that CSC's are the way forward for me but I need EVF technology to improve and resolve my issues.
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AFairley

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2013, 06:51:31 pm »

I use both (Olympus E-M5 and Nikon D800E) and while I prefer the "presence" of the OVF, I really like the ability to dial in exposure adjustment with the more-or-less WYSIWYG view of the Oly EVF, though sometimes the ability to see detail in dark shadows is a pain.
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andre_

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2013, 08:50:44 am »

I use a Fuji X-Pro1 along my D800, and my preference is by far for the optical viewfinder... But not for the flaws described in the article.

What most annoys me in the Electronic viewfinder is the lag time between the action and the viewfinder.
X-Pro1 is not an action camera at all, but for the street photography the lag time is really a problem. And I consider a parade as "street".

I've never look in a hybrid viewfinder like the last Sony DSLR-like, but if we add all the issues together, I'm pretty sure we are still quite far from a real step forward to change the current DSLR.  :-\
a_
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David S

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2013, 10:25:21 am »

The Olympus OMD E-5 has a 120 cycle setting for the EVF that solves most movement problems.
Not OVF but pretty good.

Dave S

 
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andre_

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2013, 10:30:04 am »

The Olympus OMD E-5 has a 120 cycle setting for the EVF that solves most movement problems.
Not OVF but pretty good.
Happy to read this.
I'm a fan of electronic viewfinder's idea (viewfinders, not rear monitor  ;)), but I wait patiently...  :)
a_
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thierrylegros396

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #8 on: March 27, 2013, 12:47:53 pm »

Happy to read this.
I'm a fan of electronic viewfinder's idea (viewfinders, not rear monitor  ;)), but I wait patiently...  :)
a_

Yes Andre, sorry but that's only a few hours after sending the post that I discovered the error !!

But as others said EVF are also "tweakables" to your taste for Sony and most other brands.

It's really a pitty that Canon only allows JPG to be configurable, but not RAW+JPG.

I use the annexed JPG to the RAW files only to review and check for clipped pixels and focus accuracy.

Have a Nice Day.

Thierry
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theguywitha645d

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #9 on: March 27, 2013, 01:01:26 pm »

It might be worth noting that while you cannot see what the final image will look like in an EVF, you have the same problem in an OVF. Photographers have always had to develop the skill to interpret how a scene will render with their system.
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thierrylegros396

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #10 on: March 27, 2013, 01:55:44 pm »

Yes and with an OVF, if you are in manual mode, you may have some hard overexposure even if the image looks good in the viewfinder !!

Have a Nice Day.

Thierry
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Vladimirovich

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #11 on: March 27, 2013, 02:19:21 pm »

Yes and with an OVF, if you are in manual mode, you may have some hard overexposure even if the image looks good in the viewfinder !!

Have a Nice Day.

Thierry

that's why you have blinkies and/or LV histogram
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andre_

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #12 on: March 27, 2013, 02:26:43 pm »

that's why you have blinkies and/or LV histogram
Fundamental!

The EVF is very sensible, so the aperture must change (and became smaller than in the photo) during the framing.
What you see in the EVF cannnot be exctly what you are photographing, because of the difference in sensitivity between the viewfinder and the sensor.
a_
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Fine_Art

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #13 on: March 27, 2013, 03:07:46 pm »

I am a waist level finder type guy, as in the Mamiya 67s. My A55 has an electronic viewfinder which I rarely use. I much prefer pointing the tiltable LCD up on the tripod to look down at it.

Having said that I think the electronic viewfinder has advantages for low light photography. Clearly it is much easier to see what a dark setting would be like, especially with the histograms.

On a FF camera I think there is enough detail in an optical finder to make Optical plus back screen for live view the best combination. On small sensor cameras an optical finder is often just too dark. Making it bigger to provide more detail will make it even more dark. Lets face it most of our shots are not in mid day sun, we typically shoot within 2 hrs from sun up and sun down.

Crank the screen brightness from the menu. Bracket. It's the lesser evil on a small sensor camera IMO.
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Jeff Kott

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #14 on: March 27, 2013, 11:58:50 pm »

To each his own. I have used Nikon DSLRs, Pentax DSLRs ( I still have a K 5) and now use Sony Nex cameras (5n and 7) and I will never buy another camera without an EVF. I have become addicted to in viewfinder histograms, focus peaking and magnified view. As a result, the number of shots I take that are exposed correctly and critically focused are now 90%+. My Pentax limited lenses never performed as well as they do now on my Nex because so many of my shots are focused spot on. I'm usually able to focus at my shooting aperture, so forget about focus shift. When doing portraits, I'm able to set focus peaking (low and red), so I just get a little red glint in the eye when it's perfectly in focus. With OVF's, you never really now if the AF point is exactly where you want it.
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scooby70

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #15 on: March 28, 2013, 06:50:56 am »

... and I will never buy another camera without an EVF. I have become addicted to in viewfinder histograms, focus peaking and magnified view. As a result, the number of shots I take that are exposed correctly and critically focused are now 90%+.

A shock for me was doing a little test shot of a high DR scene with my G1 and 5D. Even though the 5D is (I imagine...) capable of capturing a much greater DR I was able to capture the image first time with the G1 and process it in CS5 to get an acceptable result. With the 5D I had to take multiple images effectively guessing how much exposure compensation to dial in with each shot and then checking the result until getting the best shot.

But, I have to balance that against the pain of having a torch shining directly into my eye.
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mmbma

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #16 on: March 28, 2013, 10:26:56 am »

How do you hook up an EVF to RX100? Are you talking about the live view LCD?
Hi to all.

I've read with interrest the article "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders" and wanted to answer because I'm more optimistic ;)

OK, the Canon G15 viewfinder (among others) suffer from that problem, it's really evident !

But to my big surprise, the viewfinder of my RX100 can be really better if you tweak it.

As I shoot RAW+JPG, I've seen that if you change the setting of the JPG (less contrast) and set the DRO on "Auto", oh fine, you can see deep in the shadows !!

Unfortunately you cannot do this with Canon compact cameras, shame on Canon !

Please Mr. Canon, Sony has implemented that and it works, do the same with your cameras.

Have a Nice day.

Thierry


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Jeff Kott

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #17 on: March 28, 2013, 12:29:20 pm »


But, I have to balance that against the pain of having a torch shining directly into my eye.

I said I would never buy another camera without an EVF. I did not say that I actually enjoy using a camera with an EVF more than a camera with an OVF. ;D
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scooby70

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #18 on: March 28, 2013, 09:15:31 pm »

We all have to suffer for our art  ;D
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CptZar

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Re: About "Why I Hate Electronic Viewfinders"
« Reply #19 on: March 29, 2013, 04:43:30 am »

To each his own. I have used Nikon DSLRs, Pentax DSLRs ( I still have a K 5) and now use Sony Nex cameras (5n and 7) and I will never buy another camera without an EVF. I have become addicted to in viewfinder histograms, focus peaking and magnified view. As a result, the number of shots I take that are exposed correctly and critically focused are now 90%+. My Pentax limited lenses never performed as well as they do now on my Nex because so many of my shots are focused spot on. I'm usually able to focus at my shooting aperture, so forget about focus shift. When doing portraits, I'm able to set focus peaking (low and red), so I just get a little red glint in the eye when it's perfectly in focus. With OVF's, you never really now if the AF point is exactly where you want it.

1+
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